Act 4 Scene 1 - Merchant of Venice - Mercy and Justice

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Introduction

For my English coursework concerning the works of William Shakespeare I am required to chose an aspect of the play "The Merchant of Venice"; and compare how this aspect has been presented in the written text and with how it was presented in a production of the play. I have read the text before I watched a video of the play produced by the National Theatre Production Company. I have chosen to base my coursework on Act four Scene 1. This scene is probably the main climax to the play. It is set in the court of Justice in Venice. This scene is mainly about Justice v Mercy and is of great importance. It also brings all the characters together for the first time. The whole play centres on two characters, Antonio, a wealthy merchant and Shylock, a very wealthy Jew. Shylock lends sums of money to others, charging lots of interest. However, Antonio also lends money, but minus the interest. This is one of the reasons why Shylock hates Antonio but he also hates him for their differences in lifestyle and religion- "I hate him for he is a Christian." In the video this hatred is displayed more often than the text and there are more anti-Semitic comments towards Shylock e.g. Shylock's name is hardly used by characters; he is known as "The Jew." ...read more.

Middle

The video expressed this double-sided character of Shylock more than in the text. This hunger for money by Shylock is often repeated throughout both the text and the video. He kept repeating how much Antonio owed him- three thousand ducats and his wish of his daughter's death over money, potrayed him as a mean, old miser. This character shines through in Shylock and leaves the audience wishing for him to lose his trial at the court of justice. I felt in the video more emphasis was put on Shylock's character than Antonio's but in the text a more wide spread emphasis was placed on both of the characters. The other characters present in the scene at this point included Bassanio, Gratiano and the Duke. These men seemed to be all against "the Jew" and more caring towards Antonio. Bassanio asks Shylock- "Why dost thou whet they knife so earnestly" And he answers- "To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there" Shylocks strong language shows in the text that he is not intimidated by the hate against him. I found that the video potrayed this aspect more than the text and Antonio seemed to be the underdog throughout the scene. Shylock is also potrayed to be a more strong, forward character but there is also a sense of humanity about him throughout the play. ...read more.

Conclusion

The relationship between Antonio and Bassanio creates a bit of conflict between Antonio and Portia, a conflict she is willing to test by demanding that Bassanio gives her his ring. The fact that Bassanio eventually gives away his ring, as does Gratiano, implies that Bassanio chooses Antonio over Portia. Portia gets mad with Bassanio in the next scene for loving a man more than her. The video shows the characters feelings and expressions more than the text. It shows how sad Shylock was at this point and also how happy Antonio, Bassanio and Gratiano are. I felt satisfied when watching the video to see that Shylock was brought to justice because he would not show mercy. It was a happy ending to the scene, which I enjoyed. The video and text have many differences throughout Act 4 Scene 1 and also in many other points of the play. I myself preferred the video version of the play because you can visually see the expressions and feelings of the characters more than just reading the text. I would also like to go and see a live Theatre production of the play to see what other differences and perspectives there are. I enjoyed doing my coursework on "The Merchant of Venice" and looking over the themes including justice, mercy, love, anti-Semitism and hate. The text is worth reading as well as watching a video of it and also it would be worth while watching a theatre production of it. Liam Brogan. S1F. ...read more.

Related GCSE The Merchant of Venice essays

The love between a father and child. I think that Shylock seems to love his daughter, Jessica much more than she loves him. Jessica is very unhappy and loathes her father, and his religion. This maybe because he is an authodox Jew and she is not and she disagrees with the way he acts.

Portia does not agree to this. However, when Shylock attempts to take his pound of flesh, Portia informs him that the bond makes no condition for blood or for mistakes in measurement. If Shylock takes blood, or either too little or too much flesh, he will die because of the terms of Venetian law.

Gratiano is mimicking what shylock was saying earlier in the scene, the tables have turned. For an Elizabethan audience that would be a very powerful moment and the sympathy for him would be is dissipated. The audience seem to think Gratiano is funny but pushes it a bit to far by being too cruel.

We see a contrast in Antonio though, he's resigned. By accepting his fate we can see how he's noble being. 'I do oppose my patience to his fury, and am arm'd to suffer with a quietness of spirit the very tyranny and his rage.' He barely speaks throughout the scene and when people stand up for him he tells them not to bother.

Shylock continues this stereotype when he talks about borrowing three thousand ducats from a fellow Jew, Tubal, thus giving the impression that they are all moneylenders and that they all stick together. Shylock is crafty in the way that he insults Antonio and does not act violently towards him even when Antonio loses his temper.

1 to help me to try to decide and explain how I will direct this scene. I will try to explain how they help, and what they make me want to do. The first quote I am going to use is: "I do oppose My patience to his fury, and

The potential suitors have to choose one of three caskets, one containing gold, one containing silver and one of lead. Within one of the caskets lies a picture of Portia and when a suitor chooses the correct casket he will therefore win her hand in marriage.

This confusion and worry for Antonio in the audience adds to the build up of tension as they do not know what the end result will be, they are expecting a twist of events but they don't know for sure what will happen, this suspense will keep them on edge as they await the final result.